Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time

Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time
Promotional poster
Hangul
Hanja	와의
Revised Romanization	Bumjoewaui Junjaeng
McCune–Reischauer	Pŏmjoewa-ŭi Chŏnjaeng
Directed by	Yoon Jong-bin
Produced by	Park Shin-gyoo Yoo Jeong-hoon
Written by	Yoon Jong-bin
Starring	Choi Min-sik Ha Jung-woo
Music by	Jo Yeong-wook
Cinematography	Go Nak-seon
Edited by	Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum
Production company	Palette Pictures Showbox
Distributed by	Showbox
Release date	February 2, 2012 (2012-02-02)
Running time	133 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Box office	₩36,378,808,500

Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (Hangul: 범죄와의 전쟁: 나쁜놈들 전성시대; RR: Beomjoewaui Jeonjaeng: Nappeunnomdeul Jeonseongsidae; literally: "War on Crime: The Golden Age of the Bad Guys") is a 2012 South Korean gangster film directed by Yoon Jong-bin starring Choi Min-sik and Ha Jung-woo. The film is set in the 1980s and ’90s in Busan when corruption and crime was so rampant that the government declared war on it in 1990.

Time praised the film, calling it "the Korean mob film Scorsese would be proud of."

South Korea, 13 October 1990. Following President Roh Tae-woo's declaration of a crackdown on organized crime, Busan businessman Choi Ik-hyun (Choi Min-sik) is arrested for embezzling billions of won from hotel construction companies, and is also charged with intimidation, kidnapping and assault. Busan public prosecutor Jo Beom-seok (Kwak Do-won) is in charge of the investigation, and especially the murder of hotel owner Heo Sam-shik (Kwon Tae-won) by mobster Kim Pan-ho (Cho Jin-woong), with whom Ik-hyun allegedly was connected.

Back in March 1982, Choi was a Busan customs officer who, along with colleagues, was already taking bribes and pilfering goods. After discovering 10 kilograms of hiropon (crystal meth) in a warehouse one night, he and colleague Mr. Jang (Kim Jong-soo) approach a friend of Jang's, gangster Choi Hyung-bae (Ha Jung-woo), to sell it to Japan's yakuza, with whom Hyung-bae has ties. Ik-hyun discovers that the younger Hyung-bae is also a member of the same Choi family clan from Gyeongju and the two form a close relationship. Ik-hyun leaves his customs job and becomes a full-time businessman, with Hyung-bae taking care of the underworld side and Ik-hyun protecting him with his high-level contacts.